By Adam Studzinski
NORMAL – The Town of Normal has approved a few changes to its public comment policy.
The changes come several days after the town received an opinion on the town’s now former policy from the state Attorney General’s office. Mayor Chris Koos said the town’s attorney had some issues with that non-binding opinion.
“He found them to be erratic and more policy driven than they were driven by the law,” he said.
Town attorney Brian Day believed the town would have a strong case if someone brought legal action against Normal relating to public comment policy.
“I’m confident that we’ve got a very good case to make,” said Day. “Certainly, there’s no guarantee of victory, but certainly we’ve got a very valid legal argument to make.”
The changes involve allowing citizens to speak more than every 45 days. Councilwoman Kathleen Lorenz said she’s not sure why the 45 day rule was ever put in place.
“Life is full of lessons, and you evolve, and you try to stay relevant to the current situation,” said Lorenz. “It seems, to me, completely reasonable to look at that as a dismissible item.”
The council has also extended speaking time to three minutes and extended the total time allowed for public comment from 10 to 20 minutes.
The council chose to leave in place the rule stating any comments must pertain to an item on the council’s agenda.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].
